Monday, June 11, 2012

Stop Your Worrying Mind!

“If you worry about what might be, and wonder what might have been, you will ignore what is.” – Unknown

I envy those people who seem to breeze through life
without a worry or care in the world. Most of these people must be
faking it right? I’ve always been a worrier, even when I was a little
kid.

Lying in bed at night, my mind often goes to those “perfect
scenarios” in life. Houses I’ll never own. Relationships I’ll never
have. Spending money that I probably won’t even come close to making. In
those quiet hours of the night, you can get so wrapped up in the “what
ifs” of life and worry if you’re going in the right direction.

Am in in the right relationship? Do I have the right job? Am I being
the best person I can be? Is there something more meaningful I should be
doing with my life?

The questions keep surfacing and my mind goes into a frantic state.
Have you ever felt the same way?

Worries don’t just come up about the
future either. Worrying can spout from anything, even the past.

We worry we didn’t make the right impression. We worry we didn’t say
the right thing or wear the right thing or do the right thing. We worry
we didn’t ace that interview or even kiss that certain new lover well
enough. Worry is a funny thing; it can be about anything. Unfortunately,
you can worry about the past, present and future.

Yet, what if we stopped ourselves from worrying and simply enjoyed
the life we have? If we stopped focusing on all the things we dislike
about our jobs and wonder if it is the right fit and instead, focused on
what we love about them. This could be about anything. I bet there is
something in your life that you don’t fully enjoy simply because you’re
too busy worrying about something related to it.

What if we let what will happen, happen. Trust that everything will
work out for the best if we try our best and always strive to be our
best selves. Stop the negativity and worry and replace it with laughter
and positive thoughts. Here are some tips on squashing those pesky
worries:

1. Make a list of things you’re grateful for every night.
Before you go to sleep and your mind starts churning, make sure the
last things you think about are the happy things in your life and the
things you’re grateful for.

2. Wear a rubber band or bracelet and snap it every time you encounter a worry or negative thought. The pain will remind you to squash it and to direct your mind elsewhere.

3. Write down all your worries. Set a specific time
each day to write down your worries in different categories such as
important or silly. This will help you work through them and even see
some worries as extremely ridiculous.

4. Find quotes such as this one: “Worry never robs
tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” – Leo Buscaglia
and place it somewhere you’ll see regularly such as your bathroom mirror
or desk.

5. Lastly, if your worrying greatly affects your daily life or relationships, seek help. Talking it out with a therapist or even starting with a close friend or family member can help you sort out your feelings.

Remember, everyone encounters worry in their lives. Some more than
others, but we can all make the effort to stop these worries and regain
control of our minds and happiness.

1 comment:

I tend to be able to brush off worry until something huge happens, then I go into full blown Freak-Out mode. I think we need to worry at least sometimes, it's human nature. And nothing is perfect so if someone really doesn't ever worry, they must be a robot.